A Lesson in the Vulcan Lyre
by crazejen
Summary: Flash-Fiction. Uhura finds Mr. Spock in the break room and convinces him to teach her the Vulcan lyre. Just an idea I had.


**A/N**: Just an idea I had the other day. What might her first lesson have been like? After all, Uhura is the only person who was able to learn the Vulcan lyre. 3 Also, I was thinking of TOS when writing this. Plus my first time writing Spock! I always try to hear the characters speaking when I write, I hope I did it right... D:

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It was a quiet day on the Starship Enterprise. The metal doors opened with a soft whirr and Uhura walked into the break room, it - like many other rooms- was quiet. There were only two people there. One was a cadet, sitting in the farthest corner of the room away from the other man - Mr. Spock. Uhura smiled, they had not been in space long, perhaps a couple of weeks. However it was still most amusing to tease the First Officer. He was not one to show emotion, and teasing him made her more than a little delighted.

Quietly she approached him, not wanting to disturb him while he played on the rare Vulcan lyre. She watched him from behind for a few minutes, taking in the sweet tune. She sighed, catching his attention, "how Vulcan's can play such lovely music and be so emotionless is beyond me."

The half-Vulcan turned his chair so that he faced her, his eyes scrutinized her as his eyebrows drifted up, "you misunderstand us then." He said calmly, "we may not enjoy things the way humans do. But that doesn't mean we _can't_ enjoy them."

"Isn't joy an emotion?" Uhura countered.

Spock sat back, "A human one. Vulcan's have a different way of enjoying the pleasure of music. It's far too complicated for a human to understand."

She knew he wasn't insulting her it was just his way, that's why she laughed. "Teach me," she said coming closer. The First Officer blinked, "Why?"

"Because I like it," Her eyes twinkled as she advanced.

"It would be most illogical since no human has ever learned how to play our lyre, and I doubt you would be an exception." He never faltered in his steady drone of emotionless words as she approached. She knelt next to his arm rest and smiled up at him.

"You never know, I could be. After all, I've been told I'm a very talented young lady."

Spock's eyebrow shot up in his trademark look, one that always made Uhura believe he was curious or fascinated by the circumstances happening around him. She didn't know much about the Vulcan's, but she did know that curiosity and fascination were emotions. Unlike a lot of her crew-mates, she liked to believe Spock accidentally allowed some emotions to slip through from time-to-time.

"Then we will see just how talented you are, Miss Uhura." He gestured to another chair, which she promptly sat in, scooting it closer to the Vulcan, until their knees nearly bumped. "Take it in hand," he held the Lyre out. It was a delicate instrument with fine strings running up and down the carved wood. Uhura smiled, her fingers trembled as she took it. She was very aware of how important this moment was as she rested it against her shoulder, in the same fashion she'd seen him use it.

Spock looked almost approvingly at her, "now, place your fingers here and here." He motioned to the areas on the lyre. Uhura placed her thin fingers on the cords, in what she thought were the proper places.

"No," Spock suddenly said, not harshly. He reached out, taking her fingers and adjusting them to the right places. That action made Uhura's heart sputter until he sat back from her. "There."

Uhura swallowed hard, "alright," she strummed her fingers softly against the strings, "now, teach me a few notes."

Spock nodded, "I was just pondering which ones would be easiest for you," He replied. "Ah, I know," he proceeded to tell her the first note, which was a lot more difficult than Uhura thought. But she struggled through until she managed to hit it right after the third try. The lesson continued on like this for a good hour and by this time, the Cadet was watching them curiously.

Uhura was playing the set of notes in what Spock described as "perfection," until someone said; "Mr. Spock to the bridge." Uhura's fingers froze and she gazed at her teacher.

"Well done, Miss Uhura. Better than I thought."

"Perhaps I'm an exception then?" She asked, smiling.

Spock stood and looked down at her, "we will see," She swore a smile twitched at his lips, but it was only for a second, and then he was gone heading for the bridge. The lyre was still in her lap, and she studied it for a moment before she strummed the tune once more. It was a hauntingly beautiful song. She smiled not bothering to stop as she kept it up, after all, he hadn't taken it or told her to put it away.

Uhura thought as she played, of all the rumors she had heard about Mr. Spock, and how she had never heard of him smiling before. She felt her cheeks blush, perhaps she was the first human besides his mother that he had ever smiled at. It was a curious thought, and on that lingered with her long after the day ended.


End file.
